Friday, March 20, will see an astronomical¹ triple play when a rare total solar eclipse occurs on the same day as the vernal equinox, and a supermoon makes an appearance.本周五（3月20日）将上演天文现象“三合一”：春分当天发生日全食，还能看到“超级月亮”。

A total eclipse occurs when the moon comes between Earth and the sun, casting a lunar shadow onto the Earth’s surface along a narrow, 62-mile-wide (100-kilometer) path.

当月亮位于地球和太阳之间时，沿一条宽62英里（即100公里）的路径在地球表面投下阴影，全日食现象由此产生。

The March 20 total solar eclipse event will be the first since Nov. 3, 2013. The dark umbral shadow cone² of the moon will trace a curved path primarily over the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, beginning off the southern tip of Greenland and then winding³ its way counterclockwise to the northeast, passing between Iceland and the United Kingdom.

此次3月20日的日全食是2013年11月3日以来的第一次。月球造成的圆锥形阴影将沿曲线路径掠过北大西洋和北冰洋地区，从格陵兰南端开始，然后按逆时针方向到达东北部，掠过冰岛和英国。

In order to get its fellow Britain observers ready for such a dramatic event that will not happen again for more than a decade, Mail Online has provided the “solar eclipse timetable” and listed some of the most frequently asked questions about solar eclipse.

为了让英国观测者们能为这次十年难得一遇的大事件做好充分准备，《每日邮报在线》列出了日食观测时间表和一些常见的日食相关的问题。

WILL IT GO DARK IF IT’S CLOUDY?

阴天也会变暗吗？

Absolutely.

当然。

Meteorologist Simon Partridge says: ‘I would expect it to still look dark — as dark as night in some places. The last time we had an eclipse, some of the light-sensitive street lamps went on.’

气象学家西蒙·帕特里奇说：“还是会变暗的，在某些地方就跟夜晚一样。上次日食的时候，一些光感应的街灯都亮起来了。”

But don’t sneak⁴ a peek⁵ — even if the cloud refuses to shift. Edward Bloomer, astronomer⁶ at the Royal Observatory⁷ Greenwich, says: ‘Even thick cloud cover is transitory, and even a very short exposure to unfiltered sunlight can permanently⁸ damage your vision.’

但是哪怕云遮住了也千万不要偷看。格林威治皇家天文台的天文学家爱德华·布鲁默说：“哪怕是最厚的云层也只是片刻的，而哪怕只是一瞬间暴露在毫无遮拦的阳光下，也会对视力造成伤害。”

WHERE’S THE BEST PLACE TO SEE IT?

哪里是最好的观测点？

The further north you go, the better you are to witness this momentous⁹ event (weather permitting). The best place will be the west coast of the Isle¹⁰ of Lewis, near Aird Uig, at 9.36am.

越往北走越有利于观测这次日食，当然是在天气允许的前提下。（英国的）最佳观测地点在西海岸的路易斯岛，靠近Aird Uig，时间是早上9点36分。

WILL IT AFFECT THE ECONOMY?

会影响经济吗？

The last time Britain had a solar eclipse, the Mail reported that thousands of office workers poured into the streets. At Westminster, MPs and staff emerged on to the House of Commons terrace and roof.

据《每日邮报》报道，上次日食时，英国成千上万的办公室职员跑到街上观测，而在西敏寺，议员和工作人员则拥到了下议院的露台和屋顶上。

With millions expected to watch the latest celestial¹¹ light show, just one hour’s lost work would cost the economy £625million, according to ONS statistics, based on the fact that the UK’s workers do work worth £5billion in an eight-hour day.

预计将有百万人参与观测此次日食。根据ONS数据，每一个八小时的工作日，英国工作人员创造50亿英镑的价值，那么一小时的旷工会给经济造成6.25亿英镑的损失。